USDA disaster decision was right; FEMA should follow on wildfires

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, June 30, 2011

With some local ranches forced by the widespread Texas drought to sell cattle at steep discounts and take second jobs to make ends meet, we’re grateful for the recent USDA disaster declaration that offered crucial assistance to small, non-farm business in all of Texas’ 254 counties.

So if the drought is severe enough to merit assistance to ranches and others, why has FEMA been dragging its heels for a similar disaster declaration in response to the wildfires that have been ravaging the state, including Montgomery County?

The severe drought has created conditions that have sparked wildfires locally and forced a ban on fireworks for the traditional July 4th celebration.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, raised that point Thursday, calling on FEMA to issue a disaster declaration for Texas in light of its devastating wildfies.

“Not only have Texas officials and our first responders on the ground made repeated calls for FEMA to issue a disaster declaration for Texas, we now have another arm of the Administration recognizing that conditions on Texas lands merit a disaster designation. I encourage FEMA to take note of the USDA’s designation, and finally act on issuing a disaster declaration for the wildfires that have ravaged our state. And I join all farmers, ranchers, business and homeowners around Texas in the continued prayer for rain,” Cornyn stated in a press release.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 10,860 individual wildfires have burned more than 3,215,000 acres in Texas, Cornyn said, leading to the loss of life, homes, businesses, farms and ranches.

Given that widespread destruction, it is difficult to understand the federal government’s refusal to issue a major federal disaster declaration for the state.

And while Montgomery County has not seen the destruction on the scale visited on many other Texas counties, the lack of a major federal disaster declaration ultimately could be felt here as well, according to local fire officials in our recent story in The Courier.

Is it politics? The USDA decision suggests otherwise, but President Barack Obama and Gov. Rick Perry frequently have been at odds, with Perry at times being severely critical of Obama and actions taken by the administration. And more recently, the decision to reject Houston as the location for one of the nation’s retired space shuttles was heavily criticized by a number of Texas officials.

Federal officials have responded that the government already is providing assistance in sufficient amounts. Current federal aid covers 75 percent of Texas’ costs for emergency response work, such as evacuations, equipment, field camps and meals for firefighters, police barricading and traffic control.

But with its current budget constraints and deep cuts being contemplated in order to avoid tax hikes on the state’s still-recovering economy, state officials say the federal emergency assistance is vital. It would provide funding for local and state fire response agencies to use to purchase equipment for stopping the wildfires. And local fire chiefs have told The Courier that the lack of equipment at the state level could strain local resources if local agencies are called to other regions to battle major fires.

The wildfires scorching Texas, killing firefighters and destroying property and livestock, is similar in scope to the wildfires that hit the state in 2006 — earning a major federal disaster declaration from then-President George W. Bush.

And since 1953, when the system began, FEMA records show 19 major disaster declarations related to wildfires out of 1,976 total major disaster declarations for all types of events. California has received eight of those, Texas has received one. We agree with Cornyn — it’s time for the federal government to follow the wisdom of the USDA decision and grant Texas that relief it deserves.